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- POOL RACK. No. 292,903. Patented Feb. 5, 1884.

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PATRICK V; FARLEY AND A. LUCAS TROW'BR'IDGE, OF CAZENOVIA, N. Y.

POOL-RACK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 292,903, dated February 5, 1884.

Application filed October 16, 1883. (Nounodel) 1 To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, PATRICK XV. FARLEY and A. LUCAS Tnownnrnen, both of Cazenovia, in the county of Madison, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Pool-Backs, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention consists in anovel construction and combination of the component parts of a pool-ball rack, which affords convenient receptacles for the balls, and is capable of looking said receptacles, so as to prevent unwar ranted or surreptitious abstractions of the balls, and is also capable of readily delivering the balls when desired; and the' invention furthermore consists in the combination,with a pool-rack, of a registering apparatus adapted to operate automatically with the ball-releasing mechanism of the rack, and serving to hereinafter more fully described, and specifically set forth in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of our improved pool-ball rack. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same. Fig. 8 is a vertical transverse section on line aas, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a detail View, showing the ai rangcment for locking the ball-receiving channels, so as to prevent surreptitious abstraction of the balls; and Fig. 5 is a detail view of the registering apparatus.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

O 0. represent the ball-receiving channels, formed verticallyin a suitable upright frame, A, by a series of parallel partitions, p 12, only one of which is shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings by the breaking away a portion of the front of the rack. On thefront edge of the partitions are arranged vertical cleats or strips (4 a, which have excisions c e, forming ports through which to introducethe balls into the channels 0, the intermediate projecting portions on the edges of the strips a a forming guards to retain the balls in the channels. A gate, a, is so arranged at the foot of the channels that when closed it will support the balls below the ports or excisions e e and cause them to lie back of the intermediate guards, as illustrated in Fig. l of the drawings, in which B B designate the balls. Each alternate guardstrip is arranged movablelongitudinally, as represented by the reference letters a a. The gate 0 is extended along the foot of the respective channels and hinged to the back of the frame A-in such a manner as to allow the front edge to drop away from the foot of the channels, and thus allow the balls to escape from said channels into a suitable receptacle, 9', as represented by dotted lines in Fig. 1 of the drawings, by which receptacle the balls can be carried to the pool-table 011 which they are to be used. To the hinged edge of one end of the gate is attached a crank, d, by which to open and close the gate. A plate, f, is at tached to the exterior of the case and provided with holes 9 g, with which is adaptedto engage a spur, h, projecting from the side of the; crank, said engagement serving to sustain the gate in its raised or closed position for retaining the balls in the channels. We do not, however, limit ourselves to the aforesaid spur and holes, as it is obvious that the crank can be made to engage with shoulders or ratchets on the side of the case.

In raising or lowering the gate the free edge thereof becomes engaged between two steps or lugs, I) Z), projecting from the rear of the movable guard-strips a','and in moving the crank dfrom the lower to the, upper hole g the gate is caused to lift the movable strips a, so as to bring the excisions 0 thereof directly opposite the excisions of the stationary guardhaving its bolt adapted to engage with a notch,

a, in the movable strip a. By said engagement the strips a are confined in their lowered position, and simultaneously with the confine ment of said strips the steps I) I) retain the gate in its closed position, thus completely locking the apparatus, so as to prevent access to the balls.

R represents an apparatus for registering I the number of times the balls are removed from the rack, and consequently the number of games played. Said apparatus consists of a dial similar to that of a clock, and a pointer or indexhand pivoted in the center of the dial and actuated by a ratchet-wheel, i, fixed to the axes of the pointer, and a pawl,k, connected with a horizontal bar, m, which is attached to the upper ends of the movable strips to. Each downward movement of the said strips causes the pawl k to turn the ratchet-wheel i suff ciently to move the index-hand from one digit to another on the dial. The downward movement required of the strips a to actuate the registering apparatus as aforesaid is produced by the opening or dropping of the gate 0 to emit the balls from the base of the channels 0, in which movement the free edge of the gate presses on the lower step, b, of the strip a and pushes the latter down. A dog, a, is arranged to prevent the reverse movement of the ratchet-wheel in the usual manner. It will thus be observed that at each time when the balls are to be taken from the rack the opening of the gate 0 causes the act of the abstraction of the balls to be recorded on the register R.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A pool-rack having the ball-receiving channels arranged vertically therein, and a movable gate at the bottom of said channels, substantially as set forth.

2. A pool-rack having the ball-receiving channels arranged vertically therein, guards on the front of the channels for retaining the balls therein, and a movable gate at the foot of the respective channels, substantially as set forth and shown.

3. A pool-rack having the ball-receiving channels arranged vertically therein, guards on the front of the channels, having excisions for theintroduction of the balls, and intervening barriers for retaining the balls, and adapted to be moved longitudinally,and a movable gate at the foot of the respective channels, substantially as described and shown.

4. In combination with the vertical chan nels, a movable gate at the foot of the channels, andmovable guards on the front of said channels,'arranged to move automatically with the adapted to support the balls in the channels below the ports thereof, substantially as specitied and shown.

6. In combination with the vertical channels C G, the guard-strips a, fixed in position and provided with the excisions c c, the strips a, arranged movable longitudinally and provided with corresponding excisions, e 0, steps b, attached to the strips a, and the gate 0, adapted to encounter said steps, substantially as described and shown, for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination of the channels 0 C, arranged vertically, guard-strips a, fixed to one edge of the channels, strips a, arranged movable longitudinally on the other edge ofthe channels, and alock for retaining the movable strip in its desired position, substantially as set forth and shown.

8. I11 combination with the channels 0, the movable guard-strips a,steps b b on said strips, the'gate 0, adapted to engage with said steps, and a lock for confining the strip a in its position, substantially as described and shown.

9. In combination with the channels 0 C and gate 0, the movable guard-strip a, provided with the step 1), adapted to engage with the gate, and the registerin apparatus R, actuated by said guard-strip, all constructed and combined to operate substantially as specified and shown.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto signed our names and atfixed our seals, in the presence of two attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, this 9th day of October, 1883.

PATRICK XV. FARLEY. [.L. s.] A. LUCAS TROWBRIDGE. [L. s.] \Vitnesses:

O. \V. Miami-inn, FREDERICK H. GIBBs. 

